Agree with that. I had a situation once where I checked status online, everything showed OK so I checked in online and headed to the airport. Checked the flight status on the phone on the way, flight was cancelled and had an interesting talk with the agent about how the flight (as it transpired) had been cancelled 45 minutes before I checked in online. Yes we know the phone agents are not always reliably informed, but FWIW she said that the website is managed by a contractor and the link to the AA computer system is not direct, so the website status can be delayed. The phone system OTOH she said was a direct link into the AA computer system, so it shows what she sees. I wouldn't guarantee either statement, but thought it was interesting nevertheless.